Michael Holscher (Re)Joins PSI

Posted May 12, 2016

Beginning his 20-year career in public health at PSI in 1996, Michael Holscher was appointed to establish PSI’s first national program in Eastern Europe. He opened PSI operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, led a six-county regional HIV/ AIDS prevention program in Southeast Asia and served as Regional Executive Director of PSI’s network member in Central America, the Pan-American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO) until 2007. Michael recently returned as PSI’s Chief Strategy and Resources Officer.

Q: So where have you been?

A: I spent nine rewarding years at Marie Stopes International (MSI) in London, first as senior vice president for Strategy and External Affairs and later as Deputy CEO (and for a time acting CEO). I saw a unique opportunity to help bring about something truly transformative there – we lifted the number of women using contraception provided by MSI programs from fewer than four million back in 2007 to more than 20 million in 2015.

Q: What brought you back to PSI?

A: This organization has always been a place where I have been able to learn, and grow and work with smart and committed people who wake up every morning to make the biggest possible difference to the health and well-being of the millions of women and men we serve. And I find that is no different today.

And I was attracted to the opportunity to help decide where PSI goes next. We have grown tremendously over the past decade and diversified – from contraception and HIV/AIDS prevention to malaria and child survival, sanitation, cervical cancer screening, treatment and gender-based violence. Like all organizations, PSI will have important choices to make in responding to the rapid changes in the world around us and to the markets we serve.

Q: How do you see your role as Chief Strategy and Resources Officer?

A: I have overall responsibility for guiding and executing PSI’s strategy, including overall leadership for PSI’s technical teams and fundraising teams. I like that PSI is putting greater emphasis on linking technical leadership and innovation with resource mobilization for greater program quality and impact. It takes special technical people to fully involve themselves in resource mobilization, and its takes special fundraising people to be committed to ensuring the funds they raise will result in greater program impact, quality and innovation.

—
Photo Credit: Sophia Greenbaum

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In rural Ethiopia, women and girls often face significant barriers in accessing healthcare facilities, which can be located hours away. Moreover, there is a prevailing stigma surrounding the use of contraception, with concerns about potential infertility or the perception of promiscuity. To address these challenges, the Smart Start initiative has emerged, linking financial well-being with family planning through clear and relatable messaging that addresses the immediate needs of young couples—planning for the lives and families they envision. Smart Start takes a community-based approach, utilizing a network of dedicated Navigators who engage with women in their localities. These Navigators provide counseling and refer interested clients to Health Extension Workers or healthcare providers within Marie Stopes International-operated clinics for comprehensive contraceptive counseling and services.

In a significant development, PSI Ethiopia has digitized the proven counseling messaging of Smart Start, expanding its reach to more adolescent girls, young women, and couples. This approach aligns with the priorities set by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH) and is made possible through funding from Global Affairs Canada. The interactive and engaging digital messaging has revolutionized counseling services, enabling clients to make informed and confident decisions regarding both their finances and contraceptive choices.

Clients who received counseling with the digital Smart Start tool reported a higher understanding of their options and were more likely to choose contraception (74 percent) compared to those counseled with the manual version of Smart Start (64 percent). Navigators also found the digital tool more effective in connecting with clients, leading to higher ratings for the quality of their counseling.

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In 2022, 328 thousand malaria cases were recorded by CHWs); 6.5 thousand severe malaria cases were referred to health centers, according to the national health information system.

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Supervisors directly observed how CHWs performed malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and administered artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). They recorded CHW performance using the digitized checklist, interviewed community members, reviewed records, and provided on-the-spot coaching. They also interviewed the CHWs and tried to resolve challenges they expressed, including with resupply of commodities or equipment immediately or soon afterwards.

Beyond the observed interactions with patients, supervisors heard from community members that they were pleased that CHWs were able to provide essential malaria services in the community. And the data shows the impact.

In IM-supported areas of Mali, 36% of CHWs in the first round were competent in performing the RDT, which rose to 53% in the second. 24% of CHWs in the first round compared to 38% in the second were competent in the treatment of fever cases and pre-referral counseling. Between both rounds, availability of ACT increased from 80 percent to 90 percent.

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Here’s what it looks like in practice.

In July 2020, PSI Angola, alongside the Angolan digital innovation company Appy People, launched Kassai, an eLearning platform that targets public sector health workers in Angola. Through funding from USAID and the President’s Malaria Initiatve (PMI), Kassai features 16 courses in malaria, family planning, and maternal and child health – with plans to expand learning topic areas through funding from ExxonMobil Foundation and private sector companies. A partnership with UNITEL, the largest telecommunication provider in Angola, provides all public health providers in Angola free internet access to use Kassai.

Kassai’s analytics system to follow learners’ success rate and to adjust the course content to learners’ performance and needs. Kassai analytics are integrated with DHIS2 – the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of Angolan MOH, to be able to link learners’ knowledge and performance with the health outcomes in the health facilities. The analytics track learners’ performance by course and gives visibility by health provider, health facility, municipality, and province. Each course has pre-and post-evaluation tests to track progress of learning, too.

By the end of 2022, there were 6,600 unique users on the Kassai platform and 31,000 course enrollments. PSI Angola’s partnership with UNITEL, the largest telecommunication provider in Angola, allows for free internet access to learn on the Kassai for all public health providers in Angola. Building on its success for malaria training, Kassai now also provides courses in family planning, COVID-19, and maternal and child health. This reduces training silos and provides cross-cutting benefits beyond a single disease.

Implementing the SLPM digital ecosystem brings numerous benefits to health systems. It allows for more strategic and efficient workforce training and performance management, enabling ministries of health to track changes in health workers’ knowledge, quality of care, service utilization, and health outcomes in real time. The ecosystem also supports better stewardship of mixed health systems by facilitating engagement with the private sector, aligning training programs and standards of care, and integrating private sector data into national HMIS. Furthermore, it enables the integration of community health workers into the broader health system, maximizing their impact and contribution to improving health outcomes and strengthening primary healthcare.

Michael Holscher (Re)Joins PSI

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The Consumer as CEO

Digitalizing contraceptive counseling to reach rural women and girls in Ethiopia

Building community health worker capacity to deliver malaria care

Taking a market-based approach to scale sanitation in Ethiopia

Promoting self-managed care like Self-testing and Self-Sampling

Using peer coaches to counter HIV stigma in South Africa

simplifying consumers’ journey to care in Vietnam

Engaging the private sector for disease surveillance in Myanmar

Training health workers in Angola

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